1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to livestock feeders. In particular, the present invention relates to a rotary feeder operated by livestock which dispenses feed at an adjustable flow rate and uses a feed rate gauge to keep the flow rate uniform and accurate.
2. Description of the Related Art
A variety of livestock feeder designs have been developed in the animal husbandry field in an attempt to achieve accurate and reliable metering of feed with minimal waste. One of the most widely used feeder designs in the industry today is a rotary livestock feeder developed by the present applicant, which is described in the Applicant's prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,338.
The rotary livestock feeder disclosed in the Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,338, provided a simple, dependable, easily adjustable, and relatively inexpensive construction. This conventional rotary livestock feeder provided significant advantages over earlier feeder designs in that feed waste was minimized by dispensing only such amounts of feed as can be readily consumed by livestock, a constant feed flow rate is maintained regardless of feed level in the hopper, and mixing action of the feed wheel deters livestock from wasteful sorting of the ration. These advantages and others have been recognized throughout the industry and have made the Applicant's rotary livestock feeder one of the most widely used livestock feeders for many years.
However, the conventional rotary livestock feeder is relatively difficult to adjust accurately and uniformly to compensate for different types of feed. For example, in a large swine feeding operation, several rotary livestock feeders are often used to dispense a particular type of feed at any given time. As the feed needs of the animals change, the feeders may be filled with a feed having a different consistency, moisture content, angle of repose, and so forth, which requires an adjustment of the metering mechanism within the feeder to provide an optimum feed rate.
The conventional rotary feeders have an adjustment mechanism for changing the vertical spacing of a deflector cone within the feed hopper above the hopper bottom using a threaded adjustment bolt connected to the deflector cone with a flexible cable. However, the conventional rotary feeders do not have a means for providing a visual indication of the vertical position of the deflector cone, nor a means for allowing a group of feeders containing the same type of feed to be quickly and easily adjusted to a uniform feed rate setting. Thus, it has been difficult and time consuming to adjust a group of feeders to a uniform feed rate setting each time the feed content changes. This has led to a reluctance on the part of users to change the feed rate settings of a group of feeders each time the feed content changes, which often results in use of the feeders with a less than optimum feed rate setting.
Another problem with the conventional rotary livestock feeders has resulted from the use of a flexible cable to suspend the deflector cone within the hopper above the bottom discharge opening of the hopper. The flexible cable tended to wind and buckle during use, thereby causing the vertical positioning of the deflector cone to be unpredictable and allowing the deflector cone to fall off of the shaft that supports and centers it at the bottom of the hopper.
Thus, there has been a need in the industry for an improved rotary livestock feeder that facilitates accurate and uniform adjustment of the feed rate setting, and eliminates the problems associated with the use of a flexible cable to suspend the deflector cone within the hopper of the feeder.